Favours
by Blue-eyes619
Summary: It all started with Levy asking for one little favour... post Tenrou Island.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Fairy Tail fic and my first multi-chapter fic. Constructive comments are more than welcome, but please be kind :) let me know if its worth continuing. I own nothing.**

Levy was a smart girl, she prided herself on that fact; it was part of her identity. She was the smart one, the bookworm, the girl who left no puzzle unsolved or hidden code left uncracked. She was the ultimate problem solver.

Levy was a strong girl; though she was smaller than most, she could take a beating and come out tougher than ever. She was strong in mind, clever beyond belief, and strong in spirit; like any Fairy Tail mage, she would never give up and had an unflinching ability to struggle through any situation. Unfortunately, her lack of size and fighting ability ruined her illusion of strength. Too many times, she had been saved from a physically stronger foe, and that fact grated on her nerves and undermined her already delicate ego. She had begun to lose count of the times she could only close her eyes and brace for impact as someone else leapt into action to save her sorry ass. But no longer.

The early summer sun bore down on a certain slim-framed bluenette as she bounced her way down the cobbled streets of Magnolia to the infamous Fairy Tail guild hall. Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, her soft amber eyes scanned the dim interior of the hall, searching for a certain someone. She waved absently at her wildly waving team mates and stepped further into the loud room. She nodded and threw a half hearted smile towards Lucy, grinning at her under the arms of Natsu, who, as usual, had Gray in a headlock, before she locked her gaze on the table farthest from the door and nestled in between the stairs and the bar. Ignoring the curious stares, the small mage weaved her way through the crowded tavern and slipped into a chair at that back table, trying to push back the wave of nauseating anxiety that had risen.

Pantherlily smiled warmly at her, "Well hello Levy, what an unexpected surprise."

The exceed's companion raised a metal studded brow at her, over his tankard of ale.

Levy swallowed hard and smiled nervously at the black cat, "Uhh, I hope I'm not bothering you or anything…"

Lily chuckled, "Of course not! What can we do for you?"

Levy looked down at her lap, wringing her hands, "I um, wanted to ask you two for a favour…"

Pantherlily leaned back and crossed his arms, gazing at her curiously. The bluenette tried to ignore the piercing garnet gaze that suddenly flickered over her.

"I, um, was wondering if you would train me. I want you to help me get stronger. Make me big, like you promised." she couldn't help the emotion that had crept into her voice and kept her gaze glued on her fingers, twisiting in her lap.

The iron dragon slayer snorted, "We ain't go the time to babysit you, shortstack. Go ask that dumb ass Salamander to help you or somethin'," his expression was dead serious as he stared past her, at the opposite wall of the guild.

Levy bit her lip, feeling heat flood her cheeks, "I would, but I know he wont take me seriously. I don't want someone to coddle me and take it easy on me. I need to get stronger!" She looked up at him, her ambers eyes blazing with determination, daring him to refuse her.

Pantherlily glanced at Gajeel, silently begging him to be kind. Finally, the dragon slayer acceded. "Tch. Fine. But I ain't takin it easy on you, so you'd better be prepared. Tomorrow morning, the beach at 8 o'clock"

It took all of Levy's willpower to keep from squealing as jumped up from her seat. She thanked the pair profusely before bounding out the guild without a second glance to her baffled guild mates.

Gajeel groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Second chapter! Whew, underestimated how annoying writers block is :/ Again, constructive criticism is more than welcome! Any ideas or suggestions are also welcome! Thanks for reading :) I own nothing**

Levy was awake and ready for training well before dawn. That night, she had barely slept, tossing and turning as her emotions shifted from paralyzing anxiety to uncontainable excitement and back again. She finally gave up the attempt at sleep around five o'clock in the morning and began gathering her things for training. In three hours.

She spent the next three hours trying to occupy her racing mind; she flicked through some books on runes, trying to brush up on some spells she could try. She tried on almost every outfit she owned, she made a fantastic breakfast, packed snacks and still found she had too much time on her hands. She found it difficult to keep from overthinking the coming training session. What if Gajeel gave up on training her because she was too weak? What if he stood her up and ended up ignoring her? What if she did something stupid and he ended up hating her or thinking she was a complete idiot? Finally, her alarm rang, saving her from her thoughts as she grabbed her things and headed to the beach.

Not unlike Levy, Gajeel had spent much of the night awake, consumed by his thoughts on the following day. Why had the bookworm asked him of all people to train her? He would have thought that he'd be the last one she want to spar with after their…rocky past. After several hours of fitful dozing, Gajeel slid out of bed, careful not to wake Pantherlily, curled in a ball on the foot of the bed, and headed to the small balcony off the kitchen.

The iron dragon slayer leaned agains the metal railing, letting the cool pre-dawn air caress his warm skin. Ducking back inside, he grabbed a black t-shirt and boots, and gracefully leapt over the railing to land softly in the cobbled alley. Almost instinctively, his feet took him on the familiar path towards a large apartment building specifically for female guild members. Fairy Hills.

Gajeel circled the building, scanning for the window he knew belonged to a certain bluenette. A faint orange light seeped through the curtains, alerting the dark haired mage to Levy's early morning and foiling his plan to perch on her window, as he usually would. Frowning, he climbed the boughs of a large oak tree next to the large brick building, gazing through the foliage at the bluenette's room. He spent what must of been hours intently watching the shadow of his new training partner wander from one end of the small apartment to the other. When the sun began to peak over the horizon, the iron mage decided it was time to head back and get ready himself. The day was bound to be interesting.

Despite the fact that Levy had gotten dressed (in her carefully chosen work out attair) and packed her bag excruciatingly slowly, she still arrived at the beach 20 minutes early. Much to her surprise, Gajeel wasn't far behind her. He plopped on the sand beside her, leaning back on his hands and turning his heavily pierced face to the early morning sunshine. Levy noticed the dark circles under his closed eyes; it seemed like his night had been as restless as hers. Shaking away the distractions the dragon slayer posed, Levy tied her runners and left her bag on the sand. Taking a few steps back, she faced her training partner, knees bent, fists raised.

"You ready, O Mighty Dragon Slayer?"

Said dragon raised a studded brow, eyes closed, "You a little impatient there, bookworm?"

The bluenette giggled, "Maybe a little. We're burning daylight Redfox. We both know I've got a lot of work to do."

Gajeel snorted, and slowly rose to his feet, "Thats an understatement short stack." He took his ready position a few feet away from his partner, "I want you to start on offence. Come at me with all you've got." He smirked and beckoned mockingly at her.

Levy gritted her teeth. She was gonna show that stupid dragon what she was made of.


End file.
